Arizona Pitcher Criticized After Brawl

LOS ANGELES — Major League Baseball announced Wednesday that the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Los Angeles Dodgers would open next season with a series in Sydney, Australia. Baseball might wonder if the two baseball ambassadors have the potential to create an international incident.

Two Ian Kennedy pitches that hit Dodgers batters Tuesday precipitated a bench-clearing brawl and stirred ill will between the two rivals. Six players and coaches were ejected, including Kennedy and the managers, Kirk Gibson of Arizona and Don Mattingly of Los Angeles.

The incident came after Kennedy hit Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke with a high pitch in the seventh inning of a 2-2 game.

The pitch that had first escalated tensions came in the sixth when Kennedy hit the Dodgers rookie star Yasiel Puig with a fastball that glanced off his face. In the top of the seventh, Greinke hit Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero in the back. The Dodgers believed it should have ended there.

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The Royals' Lorenzo Cain celebrated after hitting a two-run home run in the ninth inning.CreditEd Zurga/Getty Images

“I don’t believe Kennedy threw at Puig on purpose, but the fact of the matter is, he hit him in the face,” said the Dodgers’ ace, Clayton Kershaw, who appeared to throw a punch with his right (nonpitching) hand in the melee. “If you’re a professional pitcher, you can’t miss around the face. And he did it twice in one game? You can’t do that.”

Kennedy said he did not intend either pitch to be at the batter’s head, and said the pitch to Puig was only inches from the high, tight fastball he threw to strike out Puig in his previous at-bat.

“If I was that good, I wouldn’t give up home runs, I wouldn’t give up hits,” Kennedy said with a laugh. “If I get thrown at, so be it. We’ve got better helmets this year.”

The Dodgers did not find it a laughing matter. Mattingly said Greinke, who missed six weeks earlier this season with a broken collarbone after San Diego’s Carlos Quentin tackled him after being hit, had little choice but to hit Montero to avoid losing credibility with his teammates.

Mattingly apologized for tossing the Diamondbacks coach Alan Trammell over a dugout railing in the brawl.

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Ryan Flaherty could not make this play in the Orioles’ loss.CreditNick Wass/Associated Press

Puig, who had to be restrained during the brawl, was scratched from Wednesday night’s game with shoulder soreness.

The bad feelings between the teams, which trace to Kershaw’s hitting Gerardo Parra two years ago after he sauntered around the bases on a home run, may not be over. The teams have 10 more games to play after Wednesday night.

“I don’t think it’s going to be over yet,” reliever Ronald Belisario said. “I think it will be a couple years.”

PADRES 5, BRAVES 3 Edinson Volquez struck out a season-high nine in seven innings as he rebounded from the worst start of his career and led host San Diego over National League East-leading Atlanta for a three-game sweep. (AP)REDS 2, CUBS 1 Mike Leake combined with Aroldis Chapman on a three-hitter and Todd Frazier hit a tiebreaking home run in the seventh, leading Cincinnati to its record 12th straight win at Wrigley Field. (AP)

ROYALS 3, TIGERS 2 Lorenzo Cain hit a tying two-run homer off Jose Valverde with two outs in the ninth and Eric Hosmer had a winning single in the 10th, helping host Kansas City overcome Justin Verlander’s seven scoreless innings for Detroit. (AP)